Monday, December 14, 2015

I had the opportunity to work with Linda Lehn from Merry Church Mouse again as a tester
for her new Gertie dress pattern, and I can honestly tell you that I love this
pattern! It’s a vintage style dress that
was inspired by a movie that Linda saw, and I was over the moon in love when I
saw the initial drawings for this dress!

My daughter is six and has migrated away from ruffles to a simpler style when she chooses the dresses she wants, and when she
said, “Hey, momb, can I get two or three of this dress?” I was secretly jumping up and
down inside. My husband wasn't so excited to hear that she was not interested in anything on my shelves so we would be going to the fabric store to get more fabric. I wasn't so secretly excited about that prospect!!

The pattern is rated intermediate, and I really do recommend
that you have some sewing experience to tackle this dress. It has a few elements that aren’t hard to do,
but it really does help if you’ve sewn a few things before taking this dress
on.

The dress features a long sleeve with a short sleeve option,
a gathered skirt in the back, and princess seams that give the dress a tailored,
more polished look. There are also
little cuffs on the sleeves that can either be rounded or scalloped. It has a
madeira applique collar (also in either a rounded shape or scalloped), and I
was a little nervous at first since I have never actually tried this style
applique before. However, after I got my
sew-jo going, it was so easy to do with the instructions that Linda
provides.

For the collar, Linda suggested that we use water soluble
thread. For the first two dresses that I
made, I used regular thread, and it was definitely do-able. However, if you can order some of the water soluble
thread, it made my life so much easier when I did the third dress!

The pattern tiles do call for a fair bit of paper, but don’t
let that discourage you at all when you start piecing it all together. I actually used a glue stick to put the
sheets together, and it came together very quickly. The end product is so amazingly precious that
it was worth the time it took to glue the pattern pieces.

I love that this pattern ranges from size 2T to 10. My daughter is already in a size 6, and I’m
quickly realizing that a lot of the patterns I have for her are going to start
going by the wayside in a couple of years, so I was very excited to see that
this one will grow with her for a few years to come…and with both long sleeve and short sleeve
options, I can make her dresses that will work for both cold and warm
weather! My daughter’s favorite parts
were the twirl factor and the little tab at the back that looks like it buttons
to keep the dress gathered. She’s
already looking at fabric options for at least two more dresses! With a little girl who’s tastes are as fickle
as the winter weather here in Oklahoma, I’d definitely say that’s a win.

If you want a dress that’s simple and classic yet has
limitless options for embellishment, this dress is perfect! Linda is also going to have this pattern
available at a special release price, and you can snag it for 50% off at her
shop or on Craftsy. At $5, this is a
really great deal, but that price is only available until Friday, 18 December
so don’t miss out! You can go to either of
these links to get your copy: